wearing absolutely nothing. it's the x-ray pinup calendar. this morning on "early today," deadly inferno, an explosion rocked a san francisco area neighborhood sending flames tearing through dozens of homes. good samaritan to the rescue. a man tackles a bank robbery suspect in wisconsin. and most giving. which countries are the most generous. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry.

and today we begin with chaos in california. a thundering explosion in the san francisco suburb of san bruno triggered a wind-swept fire yesterday and continued this morning incinerating at least 53 homes and killing at least one person. a natural gas explosion in the pipeline in the area thursday evening is what caused all of this. as i said, at least one person is confirmed dead and 25 people are injured being treated in area hospitals. fire officials estimate at least 100 residents have been sent to area shelters. as of now at least 120 homes were said to be damaged. flames were said to be shooting a hundred feet in the air. they said it will take full respondent if it's determined to be the cause of the fire. as of late last night, officials estimated the blaze was only 50% contained. an emotional roller coaster yesterday regarding

controversial plans by a florida pastor to burn copies of the koran on the verse of 9/11. it was part of a deal that also included moving the location of a highly publicized islamic center in new york city. for now the deal is being denied. we do go nbc's tracy pots in washington. good morning. >> what was not clear is what was said behind closed doors. today we do know apparently an attempt to diffuse the situation may have made it worse. after a call from the pentagon and talks with muslim leaders, florida pastor terry jones said he'd call off saturday's koran burning. >> we have agreed to cancel our event on saturday. houring later he accused the muslim standing next to him.

now jones says the event may be back on. >> we're a little bit back to square one. >> the florida imam ask agreed to ask new york investors if they would move the mosque but never said it was a done dear. >> he clearly understood there was no cut deals over there in new york. >> the new york material said they never agreed. now the white house may get involved. a white house spokesman accused jones of seeking publicity. >> this is a desperate man seeking the attention of the better part of the world. >> complicating things, donald trump offered to buy the new york mosque site for 25% more than investors paid. they turned him down. federal authorities say from a legal standpoint they don't believe there's anything they can do to stop this event tomorrow. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington. tracie, thanks for that update.

a federal judge in california is planning to issue an injunction to stop the government from enforcing a ban from opening gay members serving in the mill tai. yesterday he declared the don't ask, don't tell policy unconstitutional saying it violates the right to free speech and due process of gays and lesbians. in her ruling she said the policy doesn't help military readiness and has, instead, a quote, direct and dill tearous effect on the nation's armed service and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. s. in woe wisconsin police are looked for an armed masked ronner who charged in and attempted to hold up a local bank. unfort fatly for the suspect a customer tackled him from behind. he ran out without any cash. fortunately no one was hurt. an illinois bank got an unexpected deposit, an 80,000-pound semi. the truck driver swerved off the

road, plowed into the walls and swerved 85 feet to avoid a car. he clipped a parked suv before crashing into the bank. fortunately the bank was closed and no one was seriously injured. two children are in nebraska and safe and back with their mother after an 80-mile-per-hour wild ride. the boy and the girl were with the mother's boyfriend as he led police on a chase that ended with a crash near the lake. he's charged with felony flight to avoid arrest and two counts each of child abuse and next. and back in illinois, there's a new ice-skating rink up in the sky. it's not going to open until january but some some guests took a spin on the 94th floor rink more than a thousand feet up in the onhancock center. some say it could be the world's highest ice-skating rink. it looks like a lot of fun. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's wcau nbc meteorologist

michelle grossman. good morning. >> good morning. we're almost to the end of the week. we're looking at cool conditions, also through parts of the upper midwest, temperatures in the 50s, also the 60s. warm near the southeast. we're right near 80 degrees. for today we're looking at moisture working wats from the tennessee valley. it's what's left over from the tropical storm hermine. we're watching a cold front working through. that will bring rain to some parts of the nation. today ending this workweek we're looking good in some parts. we have control of the northeast. mid to upper 70s. down to the south we're looking at temperatures feeling like summer in the southeast. 94 degrees in orlando. back to the west we're looking at 71 in san francisco, p 6 dress in los angeles. although looking at breezy conditions, up to the north, 6 # 5, with seattle and rain, also the same case in billings. temperatures in the 60s. colorado, denver, 80 degrees.

that's a look at your regional forecast. let's look at your local forecast. temperatures mainly in the 70s in the northeast. baltimore, maryland, 70. st. louis, 71. u albuquerque, 82 grease. that's a look at your friday forecast. well, optimism hits the street, mortgage rates start to ply, and a tax on whiches. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus another resident evil zombie thriller, this one in 3-d has a clear pact to number one this weekend. the super bowl champ picked up where they left off and one crazy day for tom brady. you're watching "early today." depression is a serious medical condition that can take so much out of you. i feel like i have to wind myself up just to get out of bed. then...well, i have to keep winding myself up

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back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning. early this morning washington state carried out its first execution since 2001 putting to death convicted killer ca cal colvin brown. the rape, torture and murder of a 21-year-old woman. authorities in colorado are warning residents in boulder be ready to evacuate in case high winds push a raging wildfire into city limits. so far 70 homes have been destroyed by whatcity officials say has been the most destructive wildfire in colorado's history. the crew of a german-owned ship that was seized by pirates off the coast of somalia was rescued by the u.s. marines. they seized control of the vessel and captured them without firing a single shot. most were hilled partly because the crew was able to kill the engine before locking themselves

in a channel room chamber. this morning washington reports capital employs oh back taxes. it was owed by 4% of congressional employees, a percentage slightly higher than the national average. and a new gallop ranking says the u.s. is the fifth most generous country on earth tying with switzerland. new zealand and australia tied for first. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 10,415 after gaping 28 points yesterday. the s&p added 5. the nasdaq rose 7. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei climbed 140 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng was up 90 points. with wall street still looking for a memo mem ton of its own stocks rose thursday with hopes that ooh economic

recover may be resuming. they touched a 1 month high after data showed new claims for unploimd insurance fell to a new low. it shows the u.s. trade deficit narrowed sharply in july reflecting big gains in sales of u.s.-made airplanes and other manufactured goods while imports declined. as expected volume was light and trading volatile with many traders off for the jewish new year. treasuries in gold fell as investors fell more appetite for risk. stocks slid after reports saying deutsche bank is considering raising new money through a stock sail, another troubling sign for european banks. still financeles were among top gainers. jp more gaven chase rose 2.5%. adobe systems jumped more than 12% after apple said it will ease restrictions for iphone and ipad apps. don't look now but

record-low mortgage rates are inching higher. freddie mac pegged the average rate at 4.35%, the first weekly rise since mid-june. various reports say later this morning ing pt barack obama will name longtime economic adviser austan goolsbee as chairman of his economic advisory to replace one who left last week to return to teaching. >> and finally a disappointed romanian lawmaker who drafted a proposal to tax witches and fortune tellers claims lawmakers were frightened into rejecting the tax because they were afraid of being cursed. well, tom brady takes a hit, home run leaders add to their totals, and a rare steal of home. plus the saints come marching into the new nfl season with a win over the vikings. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. we're watching for rain over

the weekend. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today." for those of us who have lactose intolerance, let's raise a glass to cookies just out of the oven. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk.

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good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports the nfl season got off to a scintillating start in the big easy as the super bowl champs hosted brett favre and

the vikings. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. good morning. after a long summer the nfl kicked off another season and the super bowl champs wasted no time getting party started. rematch. first possession, drew brees made it look easy in the big easy. safety to just five to grab a 7-0 lead. we go to the second when brett favre found his groove, connected and the vikes were up 9-7. they picked up where they left off last season. when tom brady was involved in a two-car accident near his boston home. according to reports brady t-boned a van who went through a red light. good thing he showed up. he signed a four-year $72 million contract extension making him the highest played

player in nfl history. now he's got money to buy a new car. albert pujols. st. louis up 7-3 after four. teammate kobe rasmus must have been taking notes himself. jose bautista leads all of baseball. in his 44th against the rangers unfortunately for toronto, not enough. texas won it, 4-2. we go to denver. five runs down from cincinnati. tulowitzki. nick on the mound. took a look at second and chris nelson stole home. here it is again. mass sit knew smog was up. he didn't know what. they beat the first-place reds, 6-5. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin.

well, james franco sets the record straight about himself. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, one special delivery that gives hope to anyone who's ever lost something in the mail. you're watching "early today."

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rain. high pressure in the northeast. that's going to keep it nice for the weekend. into the mississippi valley, all that is left over from tropical storm hermine. up in the north we're looking at rain in the northern plains. temperatures feeling fall-like in the northeast. 73 in washington, 74 in new york city. only 68 degrees in boston. and if you're watching us on wlbt 3 in jackson, mississippi, kick start your weekend with music dance special events for the kids and lots of food for the kids at the celticfest at the mississippi agricultural and forestry museum. that's your "early today" event of the day, lynn. >> thank you. well, now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend the first of the fall season there was one favorite and no competition. afterlife is the only major debut this weekend, the fourth film in the zombie franchise that just won't die. in fact, each film that comes out tops the others.

so that's expected again this time, particularly with the added draw and added dollars of 3-d. most experts predict it will make around 25 million, head and shoulders above the others. elsewhere britney spears is denying allegations made by a bodyguard in a sexual harassment lawsuit. she said charges in the lawsuit have already been investigated and found unsub assistant yated by authorities. finally franco has addressed rumors about himself. not that there's anything wrong with it, he say, but he's not guy but he likes unusual roles and no he's not a stoner just because he occasionally plays those roles. for the record he does not smoke marijuana. michelle, maybe i'm behind but i didn't know these rumors were out there. >> i had no idea. breaking news. >> i guess so. i always find it strength that celebrities feel a need to go on the record about their personal

lives. let them live their lives and i we'll go see the movies. >> you're a movie juneky, i remember that. this comes to us from wltv from cincinnati, ohio where one piece of snail mail took 25 years to arena. jean didn't immediately realize that this letter sent by her sister was a blast from the past until she got to tend and read the date, february 25th, 1987. the post office said it probably got caught in old equipment that was recently disassembled. however long it took she's just as happy that she finally received the precious memento. you know those stories are going to be few and far between. we don't send letters anymore. >> that's sweet, better late than ever. how sweet is that. >> absolutely. you get a little taste of the past. well, i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station.

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>> good morning. i'm john collins here on a friday morning, bringing you some cool news. it's cool out there again this morning. temperature at the airport officially 60 degrees. humidity down to -- well, all right. correct that. just changed to 58 at the airport. the low so far this morning, 67% the humidity. 29.90, the barometric pressure. and we have a light west wind at 5 miles an hour. i mentioned the 58.

it's not registered yet on this map. that's the low so far this morning. you can see all the cool temperatures ranging from new england right into the midatlantic region, then back up toward the great lakes. parts of the great lakes are in the 40's. those pleasant, cooler than usual temperatures will be around the area again today. but what the discussion is about is the lack of rain, and we'll talk about that coming up with the insta-weather plus forecast. >> i was discussing that with mindy just a minute ago, lack of rain. we'll see you in a bit. here's a look ahead to 11 news today. >> unlivable conditions after two four-alarm fires in west baltimore. i'm jennifer franciotti live on the scene. details are next. >> it appears that koran burning protest has been put on hold, or has it? i'm kate amara in washington. >> so far this morning, northbound 795 is shut down for an accident. we'll get you updated on that we'll get you updated on that and have the rest of my commute home to the eastern shore every night only takes an hour but that's more time than congress spends

reading massive spending bills, it's crazy. that's why i wrote a law that requires 72 hours to read every bill. i read the big bills and i said no. no to the $3 trillion budget, no to the bank bailout, and no to the health care bill. at home you would never pay a bill without reading it neither should congress. i'm frank kratovil and i approve this message because i'm proud to be ranked one of the most independent members of congress.